By John Sittler
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s unemployment rate is now the lowest it’s been since September 2008, but House Minority Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said officials need to “take a longer look before gushing praise.”

According to the Department of Workforce Development, Indiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped 0.4 percentage points to 6.4 percent in January. That is lower than all neighboring states and 0.2 percentage points below the national average.

“Every Hoosier should be encouraged by today’s unemployment numbers, which show the largest one-month drop in unemployment in 20 years,” Gov. Mike Pence said in a statement Monday. “Indiana’s rate is now lower than the national average, and our labor force and population continue to grow.”

The Hoosier state added 4,600 jobs in the manufacturing sector in January, the most in the country. But Indiana also lost 7,100 private sector jobs, leaving the state at a net loss of 2,500 jobs for the month.

“While others may gush about ‘the largest one-month drop in unemployment in 20 years,’ I look at the report and find myself wondering many things,” Pelath said.

He noted all but one of the state’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas – and 82 of the 92 counties – actually saw unemployment rise in January.

“These disparities only serve to heighten the concern that many of us have about the so-called ‘job creation’ engine that the governor, his administration, and his super-majorities like to tout so often,” Pelath said.

But Jerry Conover, director of the Indiana Business Research Center, said it is still too early to gauge the effectiveness of the recent administration’s job creation strategies.

He said the Hoosier economy is closely tied to the national economy so these numbers may be result of the general economic upswing throughout the country.

But Conover also said Indiana has a “well-deserved” reputation as a business-friendly state. The legislature recently passed a bill that will give Indiana the lowest corporate tax rate in the country.

That lowering of the business personal property tax was one of the landmark items of the Pence agenda.

“With this legislative session’s accomplishments in cutting the corporate income tax rate, giving counties new tools for reforming the business personal property tax, and offering new opportunities for career education and retraining, we continue to work hard to ensure the future economic prosperity of our state,” Pence said.

The DWD – along with the U.S. Federal Reserve – cited January’s severe winter weather as one of the main reasons for the loss of jobs around the country.

Conover agreed with the assessment and noted that more than 9,000 jobs were lost in the areas of trade, transportation and utilities and construction alone.

But that explanation was not enough for Pelath.

“People can talk about seasonal adjustments all they want, but I continue to be concerned about the raw employment and unemployment numbers,” he said. “Those tell me who has a job and who is able to take care of their family.”

Pence agreed that there is still more work to be done.

“Amidst this good news, we know that unemployment numbers are not a complete measure of the health of the economy,” he said. “Too many Hoosiers are still struggling, which is why we need to continue pushing to improve Indiana’s economic climate, to attract more jobs, and to make sure Hoosier workers have the skills they need for the jobs of the future

John Sittler is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

By Lesley Weidenbener
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – One thing I’ve always loved about covering the General Assembly is seeing people come to the Statehouse and make a case.

Whether they’re arguing for a bill or against a bill, telling their own stories or that of a loved one, or simply sharing a heart-felt belief, it’s great to see Hoosiers participating in their government.

Until it goes wrong.

Then, it’s just frustrating.

So was the case last week as one Hoosier tried to express her views on a controversial bill only to be browbeaten by a handful of lawmakers who didn’t like those views.

The legislature was days from wrapping up the 2014 session when Shannon Watts, who launched the national group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, came to the Statehouse to testify against a bill that would allow guns in locked cars in school parking lots.

It was a controversial proposal, especially among gun control and education groups. The proposal’s supporters say it just makes common sense. And I wrote recently that it seemed like an issue on which both sides could find a reasonable compromise.

But Republican lawmakers who backed the legislation – which has since been sent to Gov. Mike Pence to sign into law or to veto – were in no mood to talk compromise with Shannon Watts.

Watts filled her testimony with statistics and data, which she said lawmakers had asked her to do the last time she’d appeared before them. “Easy and unregulated access to guns must be eliminated, not encouraged,” Watts told them.

Republican legislators then picked apart her statistics. They were combative in their questions. They challenged her views.

One lawmaker – Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour – had done research on Watts’ background and ticked off her various jobs, even asking her one time to verify her maiden name so he could describe more of her career history.

His point? She had been a marketing specialist and therefore knew how to manipulate data.

It was all, well, uncomfortable. Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, even called it “bullying.”

The situation was particularly puzzling because Republicans who supported the legislation control the House and Senate – and therefore the conference committee that was working on the bill. That proposal was never in trouble in that committee. And it later passed the House and Senate easily.

There was no reason for those Republican lawmakers to be so defensive.

Of course, anyone who testifies before a legislative committee should be prepared for questions – and Watts certainly was. Lawmakers should absolutely interact with people about their research and opinions.

Still, there’s no reason to be aggressive and confrontational. A public hearing is just that – for the public. It’s the time for people who represent organizations or companies or themselves to come before the elected leaders who make our laws and try to influence the outcome.

People who exercise that civic duty in the respectful way that Watts did should never be treated poorly. Doing so is indeed bullying and it has no place at the Statehouse.

Lesley Weidenbener is executive editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.